Arkansans in Alaska.

[PokerDave]

DW and I and our two kids ( 12 and 16 ) are sailing on the Noordam June 3rd. Spending some time in Seattle on both ends. Rented a fishing charter just for us while in Ketchikan. Spending the day on a customized excursion with my little brother who lives in Juneau there. This is a poker cruise through carplayer cruises and as my name sugests, thats my thing, so I can't wait!

 

Going with Mom, and Grandma ( 94 ) and little sister and her baby. They have an SA so that will be nice. We have a regular veranda...

 

Only 2 weeks!!!!!!!!

 

Nice to see so many arky's making the sojourn...

[lrskier]

Got back last night around midnite but still wound up from being up there. will help unpack and mow the yard.. glad to answer your questions and tell you my high points which are numerous... LRSkier

[LHARTWICK]

Got back last night around midnite but still wound up from being up there. will help unpack and mow the yard.. glad to answer your questions and tell you my high points which are numerous... LRSkier

 

lrskier: would LOVE to hear your high points and what excursions you did. I am currently in the midst of researching excursions on these boards. We sail in September, but I would like to go ahead and get them nailed down. We've been to Alaska before, but would like to try different things this time. We will most likely do the Chilkoot Hike & Float in Skagway and possibly the train again if we have time. But I'm trying to decide about Juneau and Ketchikan. We did the whale watching thing last time so would really like something different. Any advice is appreciated! Go Hogs! (I am from Little Rock.)

[lrskier]

LH, we did the train at skagway for our excurison. Also heard that those that did thebus/train had fun. others rented car and did their own driving which i am sure was spectacular. we had rain/clouds that day. so the view was limited at times and the top was shrouded in clouds, snowy.... the waterfalls were beautiful tho. dinner mates booked helicopter which refunded their money after two attempts to go through clouds. staying in town is really like being in a tourist trap a bit, esp with Diamonds Int and the other places.. we went back to ship and enjoyed lated lunch then relaxed.

 

Juneau, spent most of the day at the Mendenhall glacier and could have taken a lunch and enjoyed it on the gravel bar by the waterfalls there. Stopped at the hangar and had some great grilled halibut.. it really was outstanding. smokehouse there also had great samples and will ship. i heard whale watching was outstanding at this port.

 

 

We useed Family Air to fly into the fiords, Dave was great, lots of time and beauty, didnt see a bear but looked hard. You need this booked, i got lucky and he had a vacancy on our port day here.. also, fishing for salmon looks hot too. if you have time, after or before flying with family air.. contining away from town there is a seafood plant that throws parts into the bay and the EAGLES are swarming like the scavengers they are over the water there. got some fun shots of them swooping down on the water from another dock, probably tresspassing again and i was told i did on a lady's B & B porch in ISP..lolololol......LRSkier

[Plant]

Hi all!

 

DH & I just booked our Alaska cruise, but it's not until September, 2008 :(. I'll be here until then, soaking up your experiences!

 

It's nice to see so many Arkansans here:) !

[lrskier]

As you read and hear what all we have done, be sure and start booking. some of the independent operators are not large entities and fill up soon.. Have you purchased insurance immediately? many wave pre-existing conditions if you purchase within 2 weeks of booking. I hear that some have challenged a claim from a visit to your familyh doctor.. surely up and up operators don't stoop that low.

 

you might also wish to pursue the alaska coupon book they sell. it gives you lots of two for ones but they are limited in number i understand. again, early bird gets the discount. aint it fun??? lolol

 

LRSkier

[Plant]

As you read and hear what all we have done, be sure and start booking. some of the independent operators are not large entities and fill up soon.. Have you purchased insurance immediately? many wave pre-existing conditions if you purchase within 2 weeks of booking. I hear that some have challenged a claim from a visit to your familyh doctor.. surely up and up operators don't stoop that low.

 

you might also wish to pursue the alaska coupon book they sell. it gives you lots of two for ones but they are limited in number i understand. again, early bird gets the discount. aint it fun??? lolol

 

LRSkier

 

Hi LRSkier,

 

I've been looking at tours since we first even thought about Alaska:) ! Right now I know we want to do whale watching and maybe a flight of some sort, and a train excursion. So much $$$$ :eek: ! At least we have plenty of time to save our pennies!

 

Yes, we bought our travel insurance when we booked. We always do, as both of us have "pre-existing conditions".

[LHARTWICK]

LH, we did the train at skagway for our excurison. Also heard that those that did thebus/train had fun. others rented car and did their own driving which i am sure was spectacular. we had rain/clouds that day. so the view was limited at times and the top was shrouded in clouds, snowy.... the waterfalls were beautiful tho. dinner mates booked helicopter which refunded their money after two attempts to go through clouds. staying in town is really like being in a tourist trap a bit, esp with Diamonds Int and the other places.. we went back to ship and enjoyed lated lunch then relaxed.

 

Juneau, spent most of the day at the Mendenhall glacier and could have taken a lunch and enjoyed it on the gravel bar by the waterfalls there. Stopped at the hangar and had some great grilled halibut.. it really was outstanding. smokehouse there also had great samples and will ship. i heard whale watching was outstanding at this port.

 

 

We useed Family Air to fly into the fiords, Dave was great, lots of time and beauty, didnt see a bear but looked hard. You need this booked, i got lucky and he had a vacancy on our port day here.. also, fishing for salmon looks hot too. if you have time, after or before flying with family air.. contining away from town there is a seafood plant that throws parts into the bay and the EAGLES are swarming like the scavengers they are over the water there. got some fun shots of them swooping down on the water from another dock, probably tresspassing again and i was told i did on a lady's B & B porch in ISP..lolololol......LRSkier

 

Yes - we did the train last time and it is specatcular - a must do! We are trying to decide between the Chilkoot Hike & Float (independent operator) or the train going up and bus ride with stops along the way (also independent).

 

We did the whale watching in Juneau last time, so we're not sure what we'll do this time. We also spent some time at Mendenhall, but not really enough. Maybe this time we'll go out there and spend more time. We did see some bears on a trail out there.

 

For Ketchikan, we are going to do the flight seeing, possibly with Island Wings. I'm going to check on availability today. What is the name of the seafood plant you mentioned? That sounds like fun.

 

We always try to avoid the tourist trap places, esp. the Diamond Int. types.

 

We purchased our insurance immediately after booking the cruise/air. We never travel without it.

 

Go Hogs!!

[LHARTWICK]

Well, I've just made reservations with Island Wings in Ketchikan for a Misty Fjords flightseeing trip. One port down, two more to go!

[alaska 6/4]

Hi,

This is Tasha, I am from the Little Rock Area. I just booked the Northbound from vancouver to whittier on June 4, 2008. We want to do a land tour after the cruise. Any suggestions? Inlaws want to go to Denali park via train?? We have 3-4 days. ?? Should we do the land portion before cruise or after? So glad to see so many arkansas people on here. Appreciate all the help I can get. I have never been on a cruise before..